Controller for sheet-feeding mechanism.



Z SHEETS-SHEET *Patnted Mar. 7', 1916.

s. M. LANGSTON. .C ONTRDLLER FOR SHEET FEEDINQ MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I6, l9l4.

WIT/11.68858 S. M. LANGSTON.

UONTROLLERFOR SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION m n SEPT-16, 914.

6 -1 9 1 7. K a M 8 u a P I I IIVVE/VTOR M ESL. w w

BY W flTTUR/VEY @331, 311 "WENONAH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T SAMUEL M. '0 CAMDEN, NEVV' JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW! F01 SHEET-FEEDING- MEGHANISBL specification of Iietters Patent.

, Futented Tiller. *4, 131.6.

Application filed Eeptcmber is, 1914; Serial No. 862,068.

chines for receiving or performing such Work as pristin liiilO expiring, stenciling, cutting, scoring or the like upon the sheet material, and the main object of my invention is to provide e. simple and automaticully acting mechanism for positively pre venting the delivery or more than :1 single sheet a time.

As one ii'nportent feature of my invention, provide a gage including two spaced 131G211- ,oers, between which the successive sheets must pass, the distance between said members, in u direction. normal to the plume of the sheet, being greater than the thickness of one sheet rind less than the combined thicknesses of two superposed sheets.

As anoiher important feature of my invention, l so mount the gage that it automatically assumes a position with the passageway for the sheet to be fed substantially in the plane of said sheet, even though the elevation of the letter vary as successive sheets are fed to the machine.

My invention is particularly applicable for feeding sheets from the top of a stuck or column, where the bottom of the stuck or column is either raised continuously during the feeding operation, or is raised intermit tently at frequentintervals so as to maintain the top of the column st approximately, although not necessarily exec ly, a predetermined level, bearing d red relationship to the receiving end of the machine. When so used, the device includesas a pert thereof, means en aging with, or controlled by the position of the top sheet of the column so as to maintain the gage members in the proper position opposite the edge of the top sheet, even though the latter being slightly above or elow the mean position or the top or the column. c

As another important feature oi my'invention, l place one of the gage members closer to the edge of the column than ll do the other, and. form the mentioned member with an inclined surface, and the latter with a shoulder substantially at right angles to the general direction of feeding movement of the sheet, so that the first mentioned member will guide the sheet or sheets toward the entrance opening between the gage members, While the other gage member will catch on the edge of a second sheet if more than one be advanced at the same time.

In its preferred embodiment, the device is supported, in whole or in part, by a member resting dircctlyfupon the top of the column to insure the proper positioning of the device. This supporting member and one of the gage members may be in the form of rollers so as to reduce to a minimum the friction encountered by the sheet in being fed to the machine, and if desired, one of the gage members itself may serve as the supporting member.

in the accompanying drawings, 1 have illustrated merely one embodiment of my invention, but inasmuch as a great variety of chcngesin the details of construction and in the relative arrangement of the parts may be mode, I desire this form to be considered in snillustrstive rather than a limiting sense.

In these drawings, to which reference is to be had, and in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in the several views, Figure -1 is a side elevation of a portion of a machine having my improved device applied thereto; Fig. 2 is an end view of the device, substantially as shown in Fig. 1, but on a. larger scale; Fi 3 is a face view of the device; Fig. 4 is a. perspective View of the floating parts; and Fig. 5 is a detail on a. somewhat different scale and showing the operation of a portion of the device on sheets of somewhat exaggerated thickness.

My invention is pu rticulurly applicable for printing presses operating upon such thick sheets as paper, board or double-faced corruv gated paper, although it is, of course, up: .plicsble to other kinds of sheets, irrespective of the material, particularly if such sheets have any considerable thickness or stillness.

l have illustrated one form of my device in connection with a. portion of a printingpress including 21' type cylinder 10, an inipression cylinder ll'and feed rollers 12 end 13. The sheets are illustrated as being supported, in the form of a stack or colno umn, upon a platform ll, which is capable of being raised or lowered, and the feeding mechanism is illustrated as including an arm 15, pivotally supported at the upper end of a frame-part 1(5, and having a substantially horizontal rod 17 disposed above the top of the column and carrying a sheet removing hook l9.

I wish it distinctly understood that my present invention does not in any way involve the details of construction of the means for supporting the sheets prior to the time they are fed to the machine nor in the means for advancing successive sheets to the feed rollers.

The parts 15 and 19 inclusive may be constructed and operated substantially as is shown and claimed in my prior and co-pend ing application, Serial No. 853,012, filed July 25, 191.4, and in actual practice I prefer to employ the column elevating mechanism there shown. The form here shown is merely a conventionally illustrated substitute therefor, but I reserve the right to illustrate and describe in this application any and all such parts of the mechanism shown in the'application above referred to as may be necessary to the proper illustrating of efficient mechanism for raising the support for the column so as to maintain the top of the column at substantially the level of the feed rollers and for advancing sheets in succession from the top of the column to the feed rollers.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention,.I employ two gage members 20 and 21, spaced apart vertically a distance slightly in excess of the thickness of one sheet and less than the combined thicknesses of two superposed sheets. As shown, the member 20 is in the form of a roller, having its axis substantially parallel to the advancing edge of the sheet to be fed, and so mounted that and may be set in its lower surface comes substantially in, or very slightly below, the level of the upper surface of the top sheet of the column. The other member 21 presents a surface substantially'parallel to the front side of the column and at right angles to the generaldirection of delivery of the sheets. The distance between the two members is adjustable accordance with the thickness of the sheet material being fed. As shown, the member 21 has an upwardly extending post or bar 22 supporting a bracket 23, having hangers between which the roller 20 is mounted. The bracket 23 and post 22 may be secured in the desired adjusted position in' any suitable manner, as for instance, by a set-screw. The axis of the roller is adjacent to the plane of the front surface of the member 21,'so that a portion of the roller projects toward the column in advance of said surface. This projecting portion presents a downwardly and rearwardly ininverse clined, curved, under surface, against which successive sheets may engage, and by which said sheets may be guided downwardly so as to pass beneath the roller, and over the lower gage member 21. The roller being free to turn, presents very little, if any frictional resistance to the guided movement of the sheet.

For insuring the proper position of the two gage members. the projecting portion of the upper gage member may and preferably docs rest on the top of the column so as to support the device. I may provide a separate and additional supporting member 2i, preferably in the form of a roller, mounted to rest upon the upper surface of the top sheet of the column but this may be entirely omitted if desired. This roller is illustrated as being mounted between thc arms of a bracket 25, and the latter is adjustable both vertically and toward and from the bracket 23 by any suitable means. suchyt'or instance, as two rods 26 and 27. rigid with the two brackets, and connected together by a combined collar slidable along each of the rods, and normally held rigid by suitable setscrews. The gage members being rigidly connected and supported by the stack are caused to assume a position directly depend ent upon the position of the sheet being fed. and are forced to rise or fall with variations in the elevation of the sheet to be fed, or which is being fed.

To reduce to a minimum the frictional resis ancc encountered by the supporting of the parts on the top of a. sliding sheet. I preferably partially support the parts by a counterbalancing weight. As shown, the bracket 23 has a vertically extendingrod 2.)

.rigid therewith, and this is free to move vertically in guiding apertures in the arms 30 and 31 of a bracket 32 rigidly supported on the machine. A. counterbalancing weight 34 may be connected to ga members by a cord 35 passing over a pulley 33 on the arm 31. The mass of the weight should be so proportioned to that of the other parts that a comparatively small portion of the total weight of the parts is borne by the sheet, but at the same time the roller 24 will bear down on the sheet sufficiently to insure the proper raising and lowering of the gage members with variations in the elevation of the top surface of the column.

In practice, I may, and preferably do, provide two separate devices, engaging with the top sheet adjacent to the opposite side edges of the'latter. The devices may operate independently so that a higher lever at one side of the top of the column than at the other side will not interfere with the proper feeding of the sheets, and any warping or twisting of the sheets will be properly taken care of. If desired, the devices at opposite sides of the machine may be rigidly, convent any of LIT/4,739

nected so as to be raised or lowered simultaneously.

For engaging with the front edge of all the sheets of the column to hold said sheets in proper stacked relationship and thus prethe sheets from sliding forward and getting beneath the member 21, I provide a transverse bar 37 secured to the frame of the machine and carrying a series of depending fingers 38 which may be in the form of slats. These slats may be connected togetherat their lower ends by another bar similar to the bar- 37. The slats are preferably thicker than the member 21 so that the latter-may freely move up and down be- 7 tween the bar 37 and the edges of the sheets.

- 2.0 would be below The two pair ofgages may be adjusted toward and from each other, in accordance with the width of the sheets being fed. This be very easily accomplished by sliding the brackets 32 lengthwise along the bar 40, which supports them. The ends of this bar may be rigidly mounted on the frame of the machine; for instance, in the same way as the bar 19, shown in my prior Patent, No. 1,107 ,971, granted August 18, 1914.

The particular form of my device which I have seen fit to illustrate is designed for use in eonnection with a stack or column of sheets, from which successive sheets are fed off the top. It is, of course, evident that the device might be readily re-designed so as to operate in connection with a machine in which the successive sheets are fed from the bottom instead of from the top of the stack or in which they are removed from a stack and delivered to the device by hand. If the feeding be from the bottom, the roller instead of above the member 21, and as the bottomof the stack would ordinarily rest upon a stationary support, the roller 2 might be omitted and the device secured directly to said support. Both in such a'device and in the specific device illustrated, the roller 20 might be replaced by a member similar to the member a non-rotatable member presenting a straight or curved inclined surface, and the roller 24: might be replaced by any sunable form of shoe mounted to rest on the top of the stack and permit the sliding of the sheet thereunder without injury to said sheet. If the inclined under surface of the member 20 be suflicientlv long and the members 20 and 21 be spaced a suiiicient distance from the edge of the sheet, it is evident that the two members 20 and positioned in respect to the feed rollers and be rigidly supported. and thus the counterbalancing weight and the roller 2i might be omitted.

Having tlrus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is:

1. in combination, means for supporting 'of said members being in 21 can be pr p y a stack or column of sheets and means for delivering sheets from said stack or column and a pair of spaced gage members between which said sheets may one of said members being in the form of a roller, free to be rotated by the sheets as they pass between the gage members. i

'2. An attachment for sheet feeding mechanism, including a pair of gage members, one of said members being in the form of a freely rotatable roller with its axis of rotation adjacent to the plane of the advance side of the other member.

3. An attachment for sheet feeding mechanism, including a pair of gage members, one of said members being in freely rotatable roller with its axis of rotation adjacent to the plane of the advance side of the other member, and means for automatically maintaining said members with a passage there-between substantially in the plane of the sheet to be fed.

4. An attachment for sheet feeding neehanism including a pair of gage members, one the form of a roller with its axis of rotation adjacent to the form of a the plane of the advance side of the other ber adapted to rest upon and be supported by the sheet to be fed. 7

In combination, a lower gage member, a roller spaced therefrom and adjustable toward and from the latter and a support for said members adapted to rest upon an article to be fed between said members.

6. In combination, means for supporting a stack of sheets, a roller adapted to rest upon thetop sheet of the stack and a pair of gage members at one side of the stack and spaced apart a distance in excess of the thickness of one sheet and less than the combined thickness of two sheets between which a sheet may pass, said gage members being supported by said roller.

7. In combination, means for supporting a column of sheets and elevating said col umn to maintain the'top approxji'nately at a predetermined level, a gage m mber at one side of the column and a rollen fOI'IStlld gage member, said roller resting upon the top of the column and maintaining said gage member with its upper edge opposite to the edge of the next to the top sheet to prevent the latter from being fed from the column with the top sheet.

in combination, a pair of feed rollers, a support for a stack of sheets. said support being vertically adjustable to maintain the top of the stack at an approximately constant level, a gage member interposed between said rollers and said stack, a rolier mounted on said stack and serving as a iro =the feed rollers, the upper of a support for Mill sirppoi lor sai(. gage member and a member presenting an inclined surface and serving' to guide the top sheet. of said stock over said gage member and preventing the under surface of said sheet vfrom being spaced above said gage member a. distance in excess of the thickness of the sheet.

9. In combination, a pair of feed rollers, a support for a staclraf sheets, said support being verti'allv adjustable to man-- tain the top of the stack at an approXimatelv constant level, a gage men'iber inter posed between said rollers and said stack, a. roller mounted on said stack and serving as a support for said gage member and. a. second roller serving to guidethe top sheet of said stack over said gage member and prewei'itingthe under surface of said sheet from being spaced above s id gage member a distance in excess of the thickness the sheet.

10. In combii'iation, a pair of feed rollers mounted at a fixed elevation, a support for a column of sheetsand .verticallymovable to maintain the top of the column at a su A stantially constant elevation. means :l'or feeding sheets from the top of said column to said feed rollers and a controlling device for preventing the delivery oi" more than a single sheet at a time, said device including a pair oi. spaced gage members intermediate of said rollers and said column. and a coon terbalancing weight for su 'iporting said members and permitting the vertical and bodily moven'ient of the lat r in respect to sait men-i engaging with the top sheet (ii the column for controllii'ig the vertical movement of said gage members.

11. In combination, a pair of feed a support for a column of sheets (I cilly movable to maintain the ti the column at a substantially constantelevation. means for feeding, sheets 'lrom the top of said column to said feed rollers and a trolling device for preventing: the dcliverv of more than a single sheet at a time, said device including two independentpairs of spaced 'uide members adiacent to opposite corners of the column and iretivcen said column and said *d rollers, means extei'iding from one page member of each pair to the corresponding gage member oi the other pair and serving to prevent the passage of sheets beneath said gage members.

12. In combination, a pair of feed rollers, a column ot sheets and vertically movable to maintain the top of the column at a substantially constant elevation.

ported i i means for feeding sheets from the "top of said column to said feed rollers and means for preventing the delivery of more than a single sheet at a time said means including two separate pairs of spaced guide members adjacent to opposite corners of the column and between said column and said teed rollers and independently supported by said column, and a series of vertically disposed shits engaging with the edg of the stack and preventing movement of sheets beneath said means 13. In eon'ibination, a pair oi feed rollers, a. support for a column of sheets vertically movable to maintain the top of a column at a substantially constant elevation, means for feeding sieets from the top of said column to said feed rollers and means for preventing the delivery of more than a single sheet at a time, said means including two independent pairs of adjustably connected gage members at the Uvo front corn us of the column, each being verticaltv movable and independently sup iiorted from the top of said column.

In combination. a pair of feed rollers, a supp rt 101' a column 01" sheets vertically movable to maintain the top of a column at a substantially constant elevation, means for feeding sheets from the top of said coiumn to said feed rollers and means for preventing the delivery of more than a single sheet at a time, said means including two independent pairs of a l'insta ly connected gage in he tivo tr it corners o the iingr vcrti will inoi'aliic and supportct from the top ol puller above each pair of a cord extending: from each mirrrsponding pulley and scpa- .ilaucine eights connected to tubers at "mu, eac pendentlv id column. a K e members, pair over It" rate counter sa id cords.

in 1K or column of sheets. means for dei from said or column, or preventi g the delivery of 2am a single sheet at a time, id ncluding two independent pairs of i. v connected gage members at the mt corners of the column, ach being able and indepem utl suptop of said column.

mack

Signed at. new Kori: citv in the county of Yorh this Mt 'SJitnesses:

t). W. Amman. Fromm on LEVIX'J'N.

combination, means for supporting 

